Spool



Ami] 34H), HQQE. EA 11,999,765

I SPOOL Filed April 14, 1934 Inventor W Witness MM? Patented Apr. 30,1935 MED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in spools, and is moreparticularly concerned with the provision of means for securing togethera core or tube and the end flanges of spools manufactured preferablyfrom cardboard or similar fibrous materials.

The object of the present invention is to provide in spools of thisgeneral description, novel and improved means for securing the endflanges to the core or tube which will permit the assembly of theseparts into a rigid and serviceable unit in the simplest possible manner.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a securingelement which is of a simi'tf. ple, inexpensive construction, and at thesame time acts when assembled in a spool of this general description toprovide a structure of exceptional strength and durability.

With these and other objects in view, as may hereinafter appear, onefeature of the invention consists in the provision of a tubular metalbushing which is rigidly secured to the end flange of the spool and isprovided with pointed metal olfsets which are distributed over theexternal surface of the bushing and are adapted, when the spool isassembled, for biting engagement with the inner surface of the tube orcore.

' The several features of the present invention consist also in thedevices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, willbe readily understood by one skilled in the art from the followingdescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a spool with one flange unitincluding the flange and bushing supported from the core; Fig. 2 is asectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a developedview on an enlarged scale of the stamped metal blank forming thebushing; and Fig. 4. is a detail sectional view on the line lll of Fig.2.

Spools of the type herein disclosed are intended primarily for mill use,and serve as temporary holders for narrow fabrics, wire, belting, etc,in the mill, or for shipment, as the case may be.- Inasmuch as thesespools are ordinarily thrown away after use, it is essential that they50 be constructed of the cheapest and most easily manufactured materialadaptable for, the purpose. In commercial practice these spools areusually constructed of paper cardboard, pasted chipboard, or bindersboard or the like, and com- 55 prise a tubular rolled paper core towhich are affixed two flat flanges which may be preferably of the abovementioned materials. In the manufacture of these spools, a principalitem of cost has consisted in the provision of a satisfactory means forsecuring the two end flanges to the 6 paper cylinder which forms thecore of the spool. In commercial practice, this is most frequentlyaccomplished by means of a plug or bushing which is secured by staplesor by similar means to the flange and fits into the end of the tube orcore, being then cemented into place therein.

Other methods of securing these parts have been tried, but for the mostpart have been found impractical, principally due to the additionalexpense involved.

Inasmuch as these spools are relatively bulky in their assembled state,and therefore provide generally unsatisfactory packages for shipment, itis an object to construct these spools in such a manner that they may beshipped in a knockdown state, and may be readily assembled at the placewhere they are to be used, into rigid dependable units with a minimumexpenditure of ill ' time and trouble.

In carrying out the several features of the invention, the presentapplicant has devised a novel and improved fastening device for securingthe flanges to the end of the tubular core or tube, which permits theassembly of the spool at any time into a rigidly complete whole merelythrough the operation of pushing or driving the bushings secured to theend flanges into place within the ends of the core or tube. This devicecomprises broadly a tubular bushing which in its simplest form mayconsist of a single piece of stamped metal cylindrical in shape which isprovided at one end with tabs for clinching the bushing rigidly to theflange, and has distributed over its outer surface a number of pointedoffsets which are preferably shaped to provide a minimum resistance tothe movement of the bushing into place in the tube, and a maximum gripon the inner surface of the tube to prevent the removal of the unittherefrom. With the construction shown there is no' possibility of thespool flying apart through failure of a cementing material, or of anycomplicated locking device which might ordinarily be employed.

' Referring more specifically to the drawing which illustrates a spoolembodying the several features of the present invention, a core or tubeis indicated at Ill, and the usual flanges of the spool at E2. Theseparts are preferably constructed of some light and inexpensive fibrousmaterial such as paper or cardboard, whether of an ordinary variety orchemically hardened for added strength. The spool illustrated in thedrawing comprises cardboard flanges I2 and a rolled paper core II).There is secured to each end flange a metal bushing generally indicatedat M which preferably is formed from a flat piece of stock punched outinto the desired shape as best shown in Fig. 3, and then turned tosecure the desired cylindrical shape. This stamping has formed thereontabs l5 and I6 which are adapted when the stamping is rolled over andput in place to extend through corresponding apertures 98 in the'face ofthe disk I2, being then clinched and bent over to lock the bushing inplace on the end flange. Where it is demanded by the trade, it willreadily be understood that a washer or disk may be placed over theoutside of the flange and may be similarly slotted to receive the tabsl8.

In order to lock the bushing in place within the tubular core whenassembled therewith, there are distributed over the blank M, offsets 20which slope outwardly toward the flanged end of the bushing, and areV-shaped to provide sharp, pointed tips for biting engagement with theinner surface of the core or tube. These tips are raised uniformly abovethe surface of the plug or bushing, so that an imaginary cylinderpassing through the tips of these points would be appreciably largerthan the inside diameter of the core or tube. The shape of these offsets20 is such as to permit the cylindrical bushing to be pushed into theend of the core with a minimum of friction between the points and thewall surface of the core. This movement of the points inwardly isfacilitated by the resilient character of the paper core, the innersurface of which will readily yield to permit the passage of the pointswithout in anyway disturbing the shape of the outer surface. Anytendency of the bushing to move in an opposite direction, however, willbe arrested by the points which become embeddeddeeply into the innersurface of the core, so that any movement of the bushing in an oppositedirection will tend merely to force the points deeper into bitingengagement with the core. It has been found that where a rolled papercore having a relatively thick wall is employed, the outside diameter ofthe bushing may with advantage be made at least equal to and evenslightly greater than the inside diameter of the core, so that anextremely snug fit is obtained between these elements, without at thesame time in any way affecting the shape of the outside surface of thecore. A molded or rounded edge 22 is formed'along' one side of' thestamping l4, so that a smooth upper edge is provided which will readilyslide over the inner surface of the core to facilitate, in the assemblyof the parts.

With the construction and arrangement of parts above described andillustrated, it will readily be seen that a simple yet sturdy bushing orplug for the spool is obtained which requires only the very simpleoperation of driving the bushing plug into the .end of the core forassembly of the parts, and when once in place provides a rigid, sturdyunit of great strength.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiment shown, and that various deviations may be made therefromwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A spool having incombination with a core of fibrous or similarmaterial, a flange unit comprising a fiangeand a tubular metal bushingrigidly secured thereto having the walls thereof substantially parallelto the core and of an external diameter substantially equal to theinternal diameter of the core, and having distributed over the outersurface thereof pointed projections extending outwardly and toward theflange adapted for biting engagement with the inner wall of the core tosecure a rigid assembly of the flange and the core, said core and unitbeing adapted for shipment in an unassembled condition and to beassembled into a rigid and permanent spool by forcing the unit intolocking position in the core.

2. A spool having in combination with a core of fibrous or similarmaterial, an end flange unit comprising a flange, a tubular metalbushing rigidly secured thereto having an external diametersubstantially equal to the internal diameter of the core and havingpointed metal offsets punched in said bushing, said offsets beingdistributed over the surface of the bushing and pointed outwardly andtoward the flange to cause a biting engagement of said points with theinner wall of said core, said core and unit being adapted for shipmentin an unassembled condition and to be assembled into a rigid andpermanent spool by forcing the unit into locking position with the corewithout afiecting the external diameter of said core.

' ANGELINE LAVEAU.

